authorised technician conducts a comprehensive on-site service on both of Signage One’s GS6000s every six months for the first three years of their life.Along with thorough cleaning and componentchecks, that service encompasses replacement ofany parts as necessary.

“Three years is a long time, and you don’t even getthat on some cars,” Craig says. “We have the freepreventative maintenance, and on top of that, if absolutely anything goes wrongthen we know that it’s covered in full. In that regard it’s yet another area in whichEpson is well ahead of the rest.”

Ultimate operational flexibilityAt an operational level, Signage One is realising further benefits as a result of theStylus Pro GS6000s’ Epson UltraChrome GS Ink. Being virtually odourless andcontaining significantly less harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than typical solvent inks, Craig points out that the ink is important in terms of operational flexibility and occupational health and safety.

“We use the Epson printers in an area where staff are working on a regularbasis,” he says. “Even when the machines are running flat out there’s absolutelyzero odour. Compare that to a full solvent machine where you can’t even breathesafely in the same room.”

For staff, it means eliminating the risk of skin or eye irritation, and at a financiallevel, the company has avoided the expense of a dedicated forced ventilation system to remove VOCs from the room. UltraChrome GS Ink is also highly durableand scratch resistant, vital characteristics for jobs such as vehicle wraps and signage that will be exposed to the elements for several years.

Adding further to the operational efficiencies afforded Signage One by its two Stylus Pro GS6000s are the high capacity hot-swappable ink cartridges, enablingoperators to change ink cartridges without interrupting an in-progress job.

“For the first three months we had the Stylus Pro GS6000s they didn’t stop – weran them around the clock,” Craig states. “The large-capacity 950mL ink cartridges, in addition to the mechanical reliability of the printers and other features such as the automated take-up reel that rolls finished media to avoidfolding and creasing, mean that during busy periods our operators have evenbeen able to let the printers run unattended overnight to complete large jobs.

“I can’t speak highly enough of what I’ve experienced with Epson,” Craig concludes. “The colour is brilliant and the reliability and service are exceptional. At the end of the day, that’s what matters!”

© 2011 Epson Australia Pty Limited. The informationcontained herein is subject to change without notice.Epson Australia shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

Signage OneEpson centre stage for colour-critical print jobs

CASE STUDY

I can’t speak highly enough of what I’ve experienced with Epson.

The colour is brilliant and the reliability and service are exceptional. At the

end of the day, that’s what matters!

Craig Maddren

Owner and Managing Director

Signage One

For more information about Epson Large Format Printers, please call1300 130 194 or visit www.epson.com.au

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Epson Australia Tel: 1300 361 054

Visit our Web site www.epson.com.au

Head Office Sydney

3 Talavera Road North Ryde NSW 2113

Tel: (02) 8899 3666

ABN 91 002 625 783

Epson New ZealandTel: 0800 377 664

Visit our Web sitewww.epson.co.nz

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“If you’re happy with our work, please tell two friends. If you’re unhappy for any reason, tell us and we’ll fix it.” This is the disarminglysimple philosophy with which owner Craig Maddren has grown hishighly successful Goulburn-based signwriting business, Signage One.The company has delivered thousands of innovative signwriting solutions to customers over the past 15 years, expanding rapidly, andan Epson large-format printing solution is taking centre stage for agrowing number of its colour-critical print jobs.

Challenge: Colour matching without coloured vinylAs the business has grown it has faced a problem: the production ofhigh quality signage with colours that match the exacting standards ofcorporate and government clients, while also maintaining profitability.

“Those customers won’t accept colour that is anything less than perfect,”Craig says, “and the traditional solution of using colour-matched vinylis, quite frankly, too expensive and labour-intensive. We needed to finda large format printing solution that could match corporate colourswhile also being reliable, flexible and economical.”

Adding to the Signage One requirements was the need for a printerthat could deliver on all those prerequisites while also supporting a widerange of media types. Essentially, a highly versatile signwriting printer.

The Solution: The Epson Stylus Pro GS6000Signage One found its answer in the form of the Epson Stylus ProGS6000, a 64-inch 1440dpi durable graphics printer that utilisesEpson Micro Piezo Dual-Array print heads, Variable-Sized DropletTechnology and an eight-colour ink system to deliver industry-leadingprint quality with outstanding colour accuracy.

According to Craig, Epson’s extensive warranty support and reputationfor service and reliability sealed the deal. Indeed, Craig recognised somuch potential in the Stylus Pro GS6000 that two of them were purchased for the business, with both now being used to print a com-prehensive range – and volume – of signage products, including vehicle wraps and signs on anything from vinyl to specialty signagestocks up to 1.5mm thick.

Accurate colour – winning jobs and saving moneyOne of the biggest benefits of the Stylus Pro GS6000s for SignageOne is the ability to produce an extremely wide colour gamut, which is achieved by taking full advantage of the printers’ eight-colour ink system featuring dedicated orange and green inks. This feature waspivotal in enabling Signage One to bid for and win the contract tosupply new signage for the rebranding of Country Energy’s infrastructure business as Essential Energy.

“Everything from signage for 5500 vehicles to customer service centres and zone substations was included in the project – virtuallyanything you can imagine that has a sign on it, we’re replacing,”Craig states. “And delivering an accurate match to the company’s corporate colours was a definite requirement that was not in any way,shape or form negotiable. Essential Energy has an orange and bluecolour scheme, and with the dedicated orange and green inks, theEpson printers have been able to match the colours spot on.”

In addition to meeting the customer’s exacting requirements forcolour, Craig says that the ability of the Stylus Pro GS6000s to deliverhighly accurate colour matches is underpinning significant cost savings,particularly in light of the traditional colour-matched vinyl alternative.

“As well as buying the vinyl, which wouldn’t have been a stock linecolour that I could get off the floor, there’s the labour cost for cutting and weeding,” he says. “With all that it would have cost threetimes as much as printing on the Epson printers and involved fourtimes as much effort because we would have to put everything together in layers. It was just going to be too hard and too expensive,especially when there were 15,000 items to do.”

Craig says accurate colour production is a benefit that extends wellbeyond just one client, and he has full expectations of winning significantly more corporate-branded business in the future on theback of the Stylus Pro GS6000s’ colour gamut. “Most customers haveat least one colour they’re specific about, and when you’re dealingwith corporates or government agencies there’s no middle ground.The Epson printers fulfil that need perfectly,” he states.

Three years’ peace of mindThe Stylus Pro GS6000s’ standard full three-year warranty on partsand labour was another one of the major reasons Craig chose theEpson solution. He says that while the warranty obviously provideshim and the company with substantial operational peace of mind, italso provides very real financial benefits.

“I’ve had experience with other vendors’ machines where there’s amonthly requirement to pay $1000 on a service contract, but it’s reallymuch the same as only half an insurance policy,” he says. “If something goes wrong they’ll fix it but I still have to pay for ‘perishableproducts’ on top of that, including printer heads. On that other vendor’s printer, we’ve had to replace printer heads six times in thepast seven months, which cost another $30,000 in total.”

In addition to the warranty, Epson also provides a free of charge preventative maintenance program. Under this program, an Epson

Most customers have at least one colour they’re specific

about, and when you’re dealing with corporates or government

agencies there’s no middle ground. The Epson printers fulfil

that need perfectly.

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